|  EpandMedia is an independent media production company specializing in political, advocacy and public issue advertising for television, radio and the internet.
Based in New York City, EpandMedia provides ad agencies, political consultants and corporations with award-winning, creative writing and direction, and commercial quality production services. The company’s work is credited with helping its agency clients win elections, influence legislation, improve public images, and change public opinion on key issues.
EpandMedia’s reputation for producing effective work in all budget ranges is reflected in its winning of many “Pollie Awards” from the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC).
EpandMedia was conceived in 2001 as an arm of commercials and music video production house Flashframe Films, among the MTV era’s leading producers of cutting edge rock, pop, R&B and country music videos. EpandMedia became the chief vehicle for the political and public issue work of founder director/producer Len Epand.
“It’s clear our contemporary and sometimes iconoclastic pop sensibilities add a welcome edginess to our advertising work,” explains Epand.
Len Epand became interested in politics in high school. Later, studying literature and film at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the late 1960s/early 1970s, he wrote about politics for the school's “The Daily Cardinal.” As a longtime pop music fan and guitarist, however, Epand's focus shifted to entertainment when in 1974 a music magazine made him its West Coast editor and moved him to Hollywood. He continued writing about pop music for "Rolling Stone," the “Los Angeles Times,” and others, and with country-pop superstar Kenny Rogers co-authored the definitive music business tome, “Making It with Music” (HarperCollins, 1978).
In 1976 PolyGram Records hired Epand to run West Coast Publicity and in 1981 relocated him to New York as its VP Press and Artist Relations. Anticipating the growth of music video and MTV, he shifted into music video production. As MTV exploded Epand was appointed Sr. VP Video Production. He initiated the modern business of music video long form, launching home video and music TV production division PolyGram Music Video (PMV). By late 1988, Epand created his own entity, Flashframe Films.
While at PolyGram and Arista Records (1992-5), and at Flashframe, he created videos and TV specials for some of the era's most renowned pop, rock, R&B, and country music stars. Epand was nominated for a Best Producer Grammy award and won countless MTV, Academy of Country Music and CMA Awards, was honored with two NAACP Image Award nominations, and earned dozens of multi-Platinum, Platinum and Gold recording and video sales awards.
By 2000, galvanized by the importance of the developing presidential campaign, Epand agreed to join Vice President Al Gore’s ad team at the prestigious Washington, D.C. agency Squire Knapp Dunn Communications (SKDC), now SKDKnickerbocker. Epand directed and/or produced some 18 films for the 2000 Democratic Convention (where he helped with Gore’s acceptance speech prep), directed the debut TV ad for the Gore-Lieberman campaign, and worked with agency head Bill Knapp to create 60 radio ads for Gore-Lieberman and the DNC.
“The opportunity to work in political and advocacy advertising was liberating,” Epand remembers. “It brought me back to issues impacting peoples’ lives. In 2001, I was producing a really big budget music video and was not enjoying it. I realized that while I love music I wanted to focus solely on creating ads dealing with substantive issues."
In 2001, SKD established EpandMedia as New York production headquarters for the Bloomberg for Mayor campaign. The company later expanded its midtown New York offices to include state-of-the-art audio recording and video editing studios, staffing them with some of New York's best and most imaginative ProTools mixers and Final Cut Pro and After Effects editors. It also developed an innovative digital media research department credited with helping Michael Bloomberg’s 2005 mayoral re-election win.
Some campaigns and institutions to which EpandMedia was honored to contribute TV and/or radio production work:
John Delaney for Congress 2012 Maryland Primary
John DeStefano for Mayor 2011 New Haven, CT
Dan Malloy for Governor 2010 Connecticut
Bloomberg for Mayor 2009, 2005 and 2001 NYC
Joe Lieberman for US Senate 2006
John Kerry for President 2004
Al Gore for President 2000
The Democratic National Committee (DNC)
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)
StudentsFirst (Michelle Rhee's organization)
The Healthcare Education Project (SEIU and GNYHCEP)
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU and SEIU-Healthcare)
The Communications Workers of America
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation (National Debt)
Broadband for America
The Association of American Railroads
The Children's Hospital at Montefiore
The United States Telecom Association
Fannie Mae
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America
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